FTF Podcast: Offseason Extravaganza
by FTF Staff on May 27, 2011 8:30 AM PDT
in FTF Podcast
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PrintIn the first edition of the Fear The Fin Offseason Podcast, Jason Plank and Matt Taylor examine the San Jose Sharks roster in order to try and understand what positions of need they would like to see filled. Combing through the roster, including some of the up and coming prospects roster in Worcester, the duo tries and see what pieces fit and need to be acquired for the 2011-2012 season.
It's an hour and a half long so buckle your seatbelts-- this edition is not for the faint of heart. Dutiful listeners will be rewarded for their dedication however, as the end of the podcast eventually meanders off into the woods of useless movie suggestions and pop culture trivia.
Either way, the FTF Podcast is always a party. A party with stale chips and mediocre salsa of course, but a party nonetheless.
Come join us for the ride. With the season over, you could use the company.
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Hooray!
I’ve been hoping to find one of these waiting for me when I got to work since Tuesday! Thanks guys, I definitely need the company and some SHARKS TALK!
"If you're not hurt right now, if you're not banged, bruised, you're not sore, you're not tired, I guess the question would be: Why?" - Todd McLellan
Bring It Home.
This made being at work on a Friday morning before a long weekend when 9 out of 10 people are already gone on vacation so much easier…. podcasts all summer please!
"If you're not hurt right now, if you're not banged, bruised, you're not sore, you're not tired, I guess the question would be: Why?" - Todd McLellan
Bring It Home.
by CloweMyWord! on May 27, 2011 10:46 AM PDT up reply actions
HAHAHA! Awesome!
I needed this. I think we all did.
Hey, were the Fin awards ever finished? Or did I just miss the viewing party again?
"Never start a fight, but ALWAYS finish it."
Bleeding teal since 1997
@TheFourthPeriod How intense with the #Bruins #Habs PO series be? || @Noctro Like K-Y Jelly lit on fire. || @TheFourthPeriod Wow. Best. Answer. Ever.
Welcome to Fear the Fin...where we eat our own.
My Twitter
Luongo in Gm 5
I don’t think people gave Luongo and his 50+ saves enough credit. Any other (more mortal) goalie wouldn’t of won that game given the shots he had to face. This is the dilemma offensive-based teams like the Sharks have to face when playing a strong defensive team and a hot goaltender – you have to score, otherwise, you’re in deep trouble. I hate to use cliches, but it’s defense that wins championships, no matter what the sport.
Well in this series
Luongo just never really became a story, especially with the whole game-tying goal and stanchion absorbing most of the attention. He was very solid in this series in terms of stopping the puck, but he never seemed to be the main reason they won aside from Game 5.
Which is kind of a shame from a Sharks perspective because Luongo could have been a story. Had the Canucks lost in the games where he made huge gaffes in playing the puck – his assist to Joe Thornton in Game 1 and the ill-executed poke on Pavs & Seto in Game 5 – the series would likely look totally different right now.
I will give him credit though – especially on that 5-on-3… gah
"Bobby Orr was available, but we couldn’t fit him in under the cap." - Todd McLellan
"BEAT DAT BEAT!!!"
Gm 4
I’m reluctant to try and pinpoint one thing that doomed the Sharks this series, but when Luongo (and co.) killed off those 5 PPs (mainly in the 1st P), that was the beginning of the end for the Sharkies. Had they scored on any of those PPs, the series may have been tied going into Gm 5, however, it’s all speculation at this point. You can say it may have been a case of the Sharks PP being bad rather than the Nucks PK being good, but Luongo (besides those handling gaffes you mentioned) played pretty well. The Sharks needed to have 50+ SOGs every game for them to have had a chance in the series given the way they were playing defense (or a lack thereof) and even then, 50 wasn’t nearly enough.
Luongo’s been shaky this season, but when he’s on, he’s nearly unbeatable. Had the Sharks had him these last five years, we may have already had 3 Cups.
You won’t find me arguing here, just more that I think that it was Vancouver’s skaters being the reason for the series win rather than Luongo. I would argue that Jonathan Quick and Jimmy Howard played bigger roles versus the Sharks in their respective series than Luongo did.
I’m not saying Luongo played poorly at all (and he’s actually been pretty damn good this season being my top fantasy goalie). He just never really had to stand on his head in this series (aside from Game 5) because the Canucks skaters found ways to hem the Sharks deep in the defensive zone for long stretches of play and capitalized on those chances. He was just outshone by the likes of Kesler, Bieksa, and the psychic twins network.
[And an aside – jurisdoctor eh?
Me too… Serious Question: Do I know you?]
"Bobby Orr was available, but we couldn’t fit him in under the cap." - Todd McLellan
"BEAT DAT BEAT!!!"
Do we know each other? Don’t think so…unless we’ve faced off against each other in court. Haha. Santa Clara Superior? Federal – Northern District? LOL.
So you play fantasy hockey? I’m looking to run a league next season and could always use more players. Nothing too serious, mainly for fun, $25 entry. Let me know if you’re interested.
Talking about Quick and Howard, I was looking for our guys to spray Luongo just as much as they did in the previous two series. (Could it have been because Luongo’s Canadian?) Didn’t notice the likes of Thornton and Marleau trying to intimidate as him as much. After all, they were teammates from the Olympic Canadian National team.
Oh I see
No I just figured because maybe you put JD as your name, you were a recent grad that’s all. I knew a decent amount of people at SCU who were big Sharks fans too and thought you may have been one of them.
As for fantasy, I’m interested, but let me know when it’s closer to the beginning of the regular season (man that hurt to think about). I’ll be here.
"Bobby Orr was available, but we couldn’t fit him in under the cap." - Todd McLellan
"BEAT DAT BEAT!!!"
Fantasy Hockey
Can you shoot me an email at scu_law@yahoo.com and I’ll touch base with you in 3 months for the league.
by jurisdoctor on May 29, 2011 11:02 PM PDT up reply actions
I’m not reluctant to pinpoint the one thing. Lack of endurance. Now, that said i’m not blaming them because there are reasons why it happened. But flat out, Sharks controlled play and held the lead in games 1-2 until there was an intermission, in which they would come out of it and their legs turned to jelly and they had no more gas, to which they cou8ldn’t respond to the Canucks continueing the pace they previously had.
Luongo played decently in the series, but if the Sharks had the gas to play the full 60 minutes for games 1-4, it would have been at least 3-1 sharks going into game 5.
Overall I’m glad we don’t have him. Luongo is Nabby only not russian. Sparks of brilliance but almost every game gives up a softie. The quality of the D in front of him (their bottom 2 could be top 2 in most other teams, hell Ballard was on reserve!) is what propped him up in the series.
You think playing a tough seven game series vs the Wings had anything to do with it? A lot of those injuries we’re finding out about now came from the Wings. (Clowe was never the same after getting Kronwalled. We sure could’ve used his physical presence.) They should have dispatched them in five.
I’m too lazy to look it up right now, but if you match up side-by-side Nabby’s and Luongo’s career stats, I think Luongo’s is better, no?
God, that’s a tough call on Pavelski. Like you, Matt, I love the guy, but it’s tough to understand that it would make the team much better to give him up in order to get that legitimate number two defenseman.
So when the Sharks shop someone like Mitchell, are they looking for a particular type of player in return? Do they just put him out there and see what they get? Or do they just take the best player they can get in return (Obviously they want the best player they can get, but as opposed to the first question where you look for a spot to fill)?
I cheer for Mayers’ eyebrows just in the hope that someday they’ll turn into beautiful butterflies.
LOL @ the Jamal Mayers discussion
I will not walk so that a child may live!
"Sometimes I feel like home runs aren’t hits," he said afterward. "But they are hits." -The genius who is in charge of our team.
I will never get that 99 minutes and 8 seconds back in my life.. and I’m content with that. Good breakdown of each player. Then again, at this point, analysis of Semenov’s golf swing or fajita cooking tricks would impress me. I’m a little terrified as to what the future holds for my hockey-less near future.
Also
Did I mention the future? Because in the future hopefully in the future I can refrain from redundancy.
I'd rather give up Seto than Pavelski
I understand losing the speed hurts, but it seems to me that Pavelski is an enormous part of what makes that third line dangerous. It feels like we’d be giving up less forward depth to give up Seto. But oh do I hope we can keep the top seven in tact while grabbing a 2 defensemen, though that may not be possible…
Our wounded Sharks
So here’s what our guys had to deal with and the pain they had to play through. Next season it would be wise for some to back off a bit come playoff time and realize that if a guy isn’t contributing more, then there may be a legitimate reason why. That goes for me as well:
Clowe: Separated his shoulder in Game 5 of the second round.
Thornton: Separated shoulder that knocked him out of Game 4. Thornton, who was already dealing with a broken left pinkie sustained late in the regular season.
Boyle: Played through an injured left knee that might require surgery since late in the regular season.
Demers, Heatley, and Pavelski: Were either slowed or sidelined by ankle injuries; Heatley also broke his left hand late in the regular season.
Nichol: Needed 20 stitches on his knee after being cut by a skate blade
Josh Bubow from AP goes on to say:
Wilson will spend the next few weeks reviewing the season and making plans for the offseason, during which changes are inevitable. But most of the core players are locked up under contract, including Thornton, Couture, Clowe, Pavelski, Boyle, Patrick Marleau(notes) and goalie Antti Niemi(notes).
The team will likely look to bolster the blue line and could make other changes, but will likely bring many of the same players back for another run.
"I believe we’re getting closer," McLellan said. "We’ve got a core that’s going to stay together, that’s very strong. We’ll change some pieces, we’ll look at the way we play, some things that we do on the ice, like we always do, and come back and try to make them better. But we feel we’re a top team in the league. We plan on staying there, and we plan on expanding it, as we always do."
It’s funny, I read that Chicago is trying to move Hjalmarsson and his $3.5 million over the next 3 years. He had very little offensive production. Sometime the best things that happen are the things that don’t work out!
If we can get Keith Yandle let’s go for it!
With Rafalski retiring and Lidstrom likely retiring this year or next,
I fear we’re going to have some major competition when it comes to signing a premier defenseman. It may behoove us to look to our own system. We have some promising young defensemen coming up the ranks…
by Rhapsody in Teal on May 27, 2011 5:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Detroit can suck it
I will not walk so that a child may live!
"Sometimes I feel like home runs aren’t hits," he said afterward. "But they are hits." -The genius who is in charge of our team.
I wouldn't be surprised
if Yandle and Bieksa both join the Red Army, especially if, no when, Lidstrom retires. They can afford it. That thought is really scary!
by sharksfanwithajd on May 27, 2011 8:54 PM PDT up reply actions
BTW
St. Louis is looking to add to and beef up their front line. They also have over $14 million in cap room for next season. What about trading Dany Heatley to them. They are in desperate need for scoring. Keeping Heatley is fine with me if he becomes the focal point of our offense, i.e., plays with Thornton. But if we can jettison his contract that will free up enough cap space to sign Yandle to an offer sheet, re-sign or match an offer sheet to Seto. Also, we could re-sign Wellwood, who had good chemistry with Mitchell and Pavs. We may choose to re-sign Ferriero and/or McGinn. In other words, getting rid of that contract of Heatley’s gives us plenty of cap space to improve the D and re-sign our FA’s and p/u some other ones.
This team is super close to getting over; Just get faster and deeper and we’re good to go! Go Sharks!
I think St. Louis is in building more right now and they have immense talent in their top 6, not the type of team that will trade for Heatley. St. Louis, Edmonton, L.A. are all on the upswing and will be scary good maybe as early as next year for L.A. and St. Louis.
And I’m sorry but your dream of Yandle isn’t going to happen unless he doesn’t want to stay in Phoenix. He, like Weber, are d-men you build your team around and clubs do whatever they have to to keep them.
all that talk about nhl 11
made me think that we should have a hockey ultimate team tourney
BLEED TEAL
NHL 11 is a funny game
You know who I got a surprisingly good amount of production from?
John McCarthy (Matt’s favorite) and Scott Nichol, both players who are not expected to be re-signed based on Plank and M_T’s assessment. And for whatever reason, my best offensive defenseman is Marc-Eduoard Vlasic?!?!?
"Bobby Orr was available, but we couldn’t fit him in under the cap." - Todd McLellan
"BEAT DAT BEAT!!!"
Vlasic won the Norris in my season mode.
He was like +35.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"-Wayne Gretzky"-Michael Scott.
by SharksFanEst.1994 on May 27, 2011 7:12 PM PDT up reply actions
I seriously love all your guys' personal accounts about NHL franchise mode
I’ve seen McGinn with 60 goals, Mitchell with 33 goals, Marleau with 120, and now Vlasic as the Norris trophy winner. God if only these players lived up to our video game fantasies…haha
My bro plays NHL 11 and he never plays with the Sharks. He’s a Sharks fan just like me, but he says “It’s almost unfair to play with the Sharks. They’re too damn good in the game!” LOL
Really? I have so a little trouble winning with the Sharks.
They don’t crash the net enough. haha
Shameless radio show plug. Also, here's my twitter.
"The last time I made a video in a hotel room…..very different than this." – Drew Remenda
2010-2011 FTF 2 Fantasy Hockey CHAMPION
Going to listen to this tonight!
UP THE PUCKS!
"This is a good time to come together and raise our middle finger in the air." - Dan Boyle
by TheSoundOfHockey on May 27, 2011 4:33 PM PDT reply actions
Is the non itunes download link coming up soon? I don’t use that program because Apple is evil, and i think its terrible, lol.
I doubled back to the last podcast and searched through that to this
http://fearthefin.podbean.com/
The link there seems to work.
Stupid ass JR on vs Tonight
Did you hear that ass , regarding Stamkos getting blasted in the face with a puck and coming back into the game ,,,,,
JR says to have courage like this is unprecedented (sp) happens all the time in hockey ,,,and so on etc,etc, Stupid ass contradicts himself ,,,
But damn stamkos stud ,wow game seven u know
The unprecedented courage is taking a significant injury and then coming right back to play the rest of that game.
The happens all the time is talking about hockey players playing with injuries in general.
Bit of a difference.
JR Still an Ass
Thats not how it sounded from his trash hole ,whatever glad boston won,go kick vancouvers ass ,,,,Just like another poster said Keep Raffis name off the cup
by AlmadenBass on May 27, 2011 10:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Congrats to Boston!
I feel so sorry for the Bolts, but to get this far was an achievement for them! Please Bruins, show Vancouver what real D and goaltending is and light Luongo the hell up!
by sharksfanwithajd on May 27, 2011 7:46 PM PDT reply actions
Congrats Boston
Imagine the storyline if Joe made it back to face them…
Steve Yzerman is a freaking genius puppet master. He better win that Executive of the Year award.
"Bobby Orr was available, but we couldn’t fit him in under the cap." - Todd McLellan
"BEAT DAT BEAT!!!"
Oh good god. Dammit... Boston
Another stupid “traditional hockey markets” final. Crap. I was hoping Tampa Bay would shove it in the faces of those idiotic people who think hockey only works in the “traditional” markets and doesn’t work in the South.
And, there’ll be talk about how Boston is now going to win because Thornton is not their captain. In a sense it’s true.. but his trade freed up cap space. But, that won’t be the discussion.
"Logan Couture is a dirty, filthy man. Tell all your friends" - Mr. Plank
Member of the Torrey Mitchell and Patrick Marleau Fan Club
I'm one of those idiotic people thank you very much
I hate the fact they even have football in Florida, much less hockey. Florida is Americas wang. I don’t want our wang fighting our hat. Not to mention another cup for a team added that came to the league after SJ. No thanks.
GO BRUINS! Keep Raffi’s name off the cup.
I would rather be happy than right any day.
by SouthBayernMunchen on May 27, 2011 8:47 PM PDT up reply actions
No, see you just dislike Florida.
But with the Thrashers moving, some hockey fans got on my nerves. To have the audacity to consider fans in “non-traditional” markets not “real fans”? Please.
"Logan Couture is a dirty, filthy man. Tell all your friends" - Mr. Plank
Member of the Torrey Mitchell and Patrick Marleau Fan Club
Atonement
I remember being really into the 1st part of the movie and the 3rd part of the movie but really not being into the 2nd and 4th. Hope that made sense.
Spoiler Alert kinda
I thought the twist was definitely out of nowhere, but I remember I was pretty “WTF” about the whole conjured up fiction part.
"Bobby Orr was available, but we couldn’t fit him in under the cap." - Todd McLellan
"BEAT DAT BEAT!!!"
yup
The beginning of the movie was pretty entertaining – it’s been awhile since I saw it, but I think your breakdown on the good vs. bad sections seem right. I guess the twist does make the movie title make sense though.
"Bobby Orr was available, but we couldn’t fit him in under the cap." - Todd McLellan
"BEAT DAT BEAT!!!"
they probably had the title first and needed to write a story that matched it (SARCASM I KNOW IT WAS A BOOK FIRST)
by a10dency2ask on May 27, 2011 10:37 PM PDT up reply actions
for some reason my gut tells me that Pavelski will be the one to go, but my feeling might just be due to his totally underwhelming performance against vancouver. I hope it’s not true as he’s my favorite. But again, if we’re looking at landing a great defenseman, he would probably be one of the best pieces to dangle.
I really hope not..
UP THE PUCKS!
"This is a good time to come together and raise our middle finger in the air." - Dan Boyle
by TheSoundOfHockey on May 27, 2011 8:08 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't think he'll be and hope he won't be gone.
Based on DW’s comments, I’m thinking Braun’s going to come up and replace Wallin/Huskins with us re-signing White.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"-Wayne Gretzky"-Michael Scott.
by SharksFanEst.1994 on May 27, 2011 8:36 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't think he'll be gone either.
I agree with the podcast that if any one of the longstanding forwards is going to go, it’s going to be Torrey Mitchell. Pavelski is just too valuable to the team. The short supply of good d-men is going to drive values up, and I’d rather not sacrifice our forward depth for a third or fourth rate d-man. If we can’t get a top defenseman, I concur with re-signing White and bringing up Braun.
As for forwards, isn’t Joel Ward up for grabs? He was a beast for the Preds during the playoffs, especially against Vancouver. If we can put him on the third line with Pavs and Welly, that 3rd line has the potential to be lethal.
by sharksfanwithajd on May 27, 2011 9:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I have a hunch
and think that Joel Ward was the forward Matt wanted to mention but couldn’t mention because today’s podcast was only about the Sharks…
Nevertheless if he was or wasn’t the forward you were referring to, Matt, I think Joel Ward would be a pretty good addition to our depth. He for sure showed his big game potential in the series vs the Nucks.
I'm pretty sure that this is correct.
And yes, Ward is an UFA this year. Probably one of the prime targets for many clubs out of the gate.
"Never start a fight, but ALWAYS finish it."
Bleeding teal since 1997
@TheFourthPeriod How intense with the #Bruins #Habs PO series be? || @Noctro Like K-Y Jelly lit on fire. || @TheFourthPeriod Wow. Best. Answer. Ever.
Welcome to Fear the Fin...where we eat our own.
My Twitter
by Noctro on May 28, 2011 5:11 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Matt could also have Marco Sturm in mind.
At least I have him in mind and I think he would fit in just perfekt.
He was one of the best PK guys we ever had. He still is a fast winger and I think his injury history has nothing to do with his general constitution. Bad luck at unfortunate times. Would it have been nice to have him instead of his replacement Curtis Brown (at the cost of Brad Boyes; what a waste) in the 03/04 Conference finals. I am sure we would have been to the finals that year. He also could be used in the top two lines.
So there are a lot of issues the Sharks could solve or at least ease with Sturm.
- PK
- Speed
- Topline replacement
- variability
I think he can be had for a relatively fair price because he was placed on waivers by LA and traded to LA before because of cap issues of Boston. This time he will have a full healthy offseason.
+ He wants to play in SJ.
I see a chance to have him in SJ.
It is not the case that Wilson wanted him out. It was more that Boston wanted him as part of the package.
We will see.
No way. No. No way
They better not. It is rare that he is not the go to guy in the playoffs. Heatley has lived up to all the expectations I had of him. Score in the regular season, fail in the playoffs. And we barely got numbers from him in the regular season this year. Its too much money that can be better spent. Especially when Seto needs a contract. That’s a guy who plays playoff hockey as well.
Heatley for a 6-pack and a copy of Hustler if we have to.
I would rather be happy than right any day.
by SouthBayernMunchen on May 27, 2011 8:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Heatley is the top point-per-game producer on the team in the playoffs (in his career). Not sure who expected him to fail…
by a10dency2ask on May 27, 2011 9:48 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm giving him a break this year (no pun intended)
He was at about a point-per-game about 1/2 way through this year before he dropped off a cliff. I have a feeling that had to do with his broken hand he was playing with. Hopefully he can get that fixed this offseason and be the point-per-game player we know he can be.
Shameless radio show plug. Also, here's my twitter.
"The last time I made a video in a hotel room…..very different than this." – Drew Remenda
2010-2011 FTF 2 Fantasy Hockey CHAMPION
Why do people think that Bridesmaids is funny?
EW has been going crazy over it as well, and I didn’t see where the hype’s coming from. It’s a 2 hour long Judd Apatow movie with vaginas.
A movie I highly recommend is Exporting Raymond. It’s a documentary about creating a Russian language version of Everybody Loves Raymond, and it’s fucking hilarious. And I think Everybody Loves Raymond isn’t funny at all. Oh, and No Strings Attached. I can quote that movie for days.
Oh, and I hate you guys for putting the thought of Pavelski being traded into my head, because I JUST bought a Pavelski tshirt today, and that would suck more than when I got a Brian Boucher goalie stick the day he signed with Philly. Oh, and because he’s an American Hero and all that.
American Heroes: Joe Pavelski, Buster Posey, Charlie Coyle
Fear the Fin - NEEDS MORE DOVES
guess it depends on if you like judd apatow movies, which many people do
by a10dency2ask on May 28, 2011 1:10 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Guess that’s my problem, that I find Judd Apatow movies to be horribly unfunny.
American Heroes: Joe Pavelski, Buster Posey, Charlie Coyle
Fear the Fin - NEEDS MORE DOVES
depending on how you feel about vaginas, this could have been a lethal combination for you!
by a10dency2ask on May 28, 2011 10:06 AM PDT up reply actions
I’m fine with vaginas, except for the whole menstruation thing. That sucks.
But Kristin Wiig annoys me so much. So that didn’t help the movie.
American Heroes: Joe Pavelski, Buster Posey, Charlie Coyle
Fear the Fin - NEEDS MORE DOVES
haven’t seen it, but you’re definitely right about the hype
by a10dency2ask on May 28, 2011 10:17 AM PDT up reply actions
Knocked Up was weak. It had its moments early but * snore * when it got all serious.
I know Hangover 1 is beloved by most and not an Apatow movie, but I thought it was massively overhyped too.
If I want to watch a guy movie starring Heather Graham, I’ll just pop in Swingers.
"Bobby Orr was available, but we couldn’t fit him in under the cap." - Todd McLellan
"BEAT DAT BEAT!!!"
Movie talk
While your watching foreign films you should definitely check out “City of God” if you haven’t seen that already. It’s a really great story about life in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.
If you like City of God you should definitely check out “Tropa de Elite”. It’s a similar movie that focuses on a Brazillian special forces group called BOPE that deals with crime in the slums that the normal police can’t deal with, or won’t deal with due to corruption.
“A Prophet” and “Animal Kingdom” are a couple really good foreign films too. Animal Kingdom is Australian so no subtitles.
I just saw this movie last weekend called Tucker & Dale vs. Evil that was surprisingly hilarious. It’s very Shaun of the Dead’ish.
Hangover 2 was a trip
Like the first one, but in Thailand. Pretty damn funny.
"Never start a fight, but ALWAYS finish it."
Bleeding teal since 1997
@TheFourthPeriod How intense with the #Bruins #Habs PO series be? || @Noctro Like K-Y Jelly lit on fire. || @TheFourthPeriod Wow. Best. Answer. Ever.
Welcome to Fear the Fin...where we eat our own.
My Twitter
by Noctro on May 28, 2011 5:14 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Hangover 2
Was the first one… not just like it.
I swear it’s the exact same movie, just in Thailand this time.
"Douglas Murray is a humongous human being." – Drew Remenda
Tweet Tweet
SCF
in the finals, I actually think that we may have a close series. I know that, if I were a Boston fan, I would probably think that ppl were underrating “my” team if the predictions were Nucks in 4-5 (as Sharks fans, we may be used to being underrated by the collective media…). I like what Guy Boucher said (he’s becoming my second fav coach behind TMC), and I paraphrase, “When both teams have made it so far [to the finals], all bets are off and we might as well call it even”—in other words, respect is due to them both (I’m not saying it hasn’t been given).
I’m actually pulling for Boston… and I’m kinda hoping that they reveal Vancouver to be “less than perfect.” I kinda think that VN had a psychological edge going into the post-season due to their dominance on paper… and even though SJ had been as good or better from Jan. 17th on, IMO, this “fear factor” wasn’t present to the same degree when teams played SJ instead of VN bc the on-paper-dominance wasn’t there (funny how that works—the positive spin on not being “feared” as much is that you don’t have the same amount of “pressure” on you, and the negative spin is that other teams aren’t, perhaps, as intimidated). I think if Boston can get off to a good start in the series and realize that they have a chance to beat VN, then they really do have a chance. ;)
Anyways, I’m personally pulling for Boston, as I like Tim Thomas and… Boston’s last trip to the finals was previous to VN’s last trip. I think it’s pretty likely that VN will win a cup with the current core group they have at some point and I may even root for them one of these years (if they make it back to the finals), but not this year, I don’t think (sorry Nuckle heads!)
I have a lot of respect for the Nucks and their fans… but yeah, Go B’s. :]
*and now for the possibly obvious clarification*
I would only root for another WC team if the Sharks were already out of it… and I’d only root for an EC team in the finals if they weren’t playing SJ. :p There are probably other caveats lying dormant in the mental makeup, as well (that will go unstated but nevertheless inform how and when I “pull” for other teams).
And yes, perhaps now and after the finals, moderate rosterbation and baseball will have to suffice for the next 4 months or so. :/ (Go A’s. haha—hope you Giants fans don’t mind). I’ll probably mainly read the posts till next season… as I don’t feel qualified yet to comment on rosters and the more minute technical details of hockey. Sorry for the longish post(s).
Boston is going to kick some ass.
Like I said on Twitter earlier, if Vanc thought WE played physichal, wait ’till the get a load of Boston.
Then there’s Timmy. Class act. Favorite non-Shark hands down.
"Never start a fight, but ALWAYS finish it."
Bleeding teal since 1997
@TheFourthPeriod How intense with the #Bruins #Habs PO series be? || @Noctro Like K-Y Jelly lit on fire. || @TheFourthPeriod Wow. Best. Answer. Ever.
Welcome to Fear the Fin...where we eat our own.
My Twitter
by Noctro on May 28, 2011 8:26 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Except
You guys outhit Boston in the playoffs by over 50 hits
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
interesting point
However, my analysis, such as it is, isn’t/wasn’t based on so much on physicality.
oh, here
you may have a point, but we also played one more game than they have so far… if that makes any diff. (some).
Absolutely on Thomas
Thought his post-game interview with McGuire was a masterclass on how to behave as a professional athlete: NBA douchebags, take note…
I have to say I’m rooting for Boston too. I’m usually all in favour of Western Conf teams comprehensively schooling their Eastern opponents, and I do think the Twins are scary good, but I just can’t support a team that has both Torres AND Lapierre on its roster…
by LimeySharkFan on May 28, 2011 5:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Agreed, but we need a number 2 guy not a number 4 guy, and i don’t think Brent Burns is the ideal number 2 D man we need.
I love Murray but he is way too slow to be a top pairing defenseman. The only reason the Boyle/Murray pairing works is because Dan Boyle is freakin amazing, and super fast, but I want to see Boyle get a real number 2 defenseman so he can just focus on playing his game, rather than constantly worrying about covering for Murray.
I think a guy like Jan Hejda could work really well with Boyle, without burning a hole in our cap space. Otherwise guys like Pitkanen and Brewer would be good as well, but they’d probably cost twice as much. Murray would then move to our 3rd pairing to play alongside Ian White or Justin Braun.
Ben Eager
Wild Card. Loose Cannon. Unhinged.
While I hate how undisciplined he can be, if San Jose wants an enforcer type on the roster, they have to think about keeping him. Who has filled in that role lately?
- Scott Parker
- Jody Shelley
- Brad Staubitz
- Ryane Clowe (de facto)
All those guys were pretty one-dimensional fighters and Clowe’s value calls for him to stay out of the box (but I understand if someone’s picking on Logan or something like that). But Ben Eager’s got some hands and probably scored the second prettiest goal for the Sharks in the regular season. If the organization thinks they can train (nay, domesticate) him, I say give him another 1-year shot.
"Bobby Orr was available, but we couldn’t fit him in under the cap." - Todd McLellan
"BEAT DAT BEAT!!!"
Come on...let's be real
That goal that Eager scored was a total fluke. He couldn’t pull that off again even if he tried.
by BillytheSid on May 28, 2011 11:10 AM PDT up reply actions
Maybe not
But he meant to do that haha. The puck was in the right place, as was he… but it looked like it was his intention to shoot that way.
"Logan Couture is a dirty, filthy man. Tell all your friends" - Mr. Plank
Member of the Torrey Mitchell and Patrick Marleau Fan Club
I’m not saying that he’s gonna score one like that every season, but he’s got pretty good hands and a nice shot, especially when stacked up against the 4th liners the Sharks have employed that I listed above.
Looking at his stats for the past 3 seasons, he’s gonna give you a steady 15 points, which isn’t bad. Unfortunately, he’s also good for about 120 PIMs many of which are of the undisciplined/stupid variety. He’s nowhere near a priority signing (especially considering his Game 2 meltdown that I think accounted for 2 GA for the Sharks, but hey, he scored one back =/ ), but if, and it’s a very big if, they can get him to play a little smarter, he’d be nice on the 4th line that could probably had on the cheap.
"Bobby Orr was available, but we couldn’t fit him in under the cap." - Todd McLellan
"BEAT DAT BEAT!!!"
But there are other, less experienced options that are available. Brandon Mashinter is naturally the first name that comes to mind. And he’s got a set of hands himself. If not, there’s Fraizer McLaren. And, push comes to shove, you can put the energetic McGinn in that spot. No need to fight.. he’ll just knock you ahead into next week.
"Logan Couture is a dirty, filthy man. Tell all your friends" - Mr. Plank
Member of the Torrey Mitchell and Patrick Marleau Fan Club
Like Plank said, “i like the idea of Ben Eager”, but i think that stunt he pulled with Luongo cost him a lot of respect with the rest of the team. If the rest of the team doesn’t like him and respect him then can’t/won’t play here.
If i’m just misinterpreting things and the team still likes Ben Eager then i wouldn’t mind resigning him. He’s big, strong, fast, tough, mean, physical, he can fight, and he’s got some offensive skills; he’s the perfect 4th liner really, he just needs some discipline.
Great podcast as usual, but...
Kent Huskins does not care for your jokes concerning his chances of re-signing with the Sharks!
Also, are we ever going to finish up the Fin awards?
Proud member of the "Bring Back Semenov" Club
"The only crying allowed in hockey is when you lose a playoff series, retire or JR is speaking publicly." - Jamie Baker
"You are down with the homies, my friend." - Randy Hahn
Kent Huskins cares.
"Don't fart on my chair mutha fuckah!" - Randy Hahn
Injury Factor
Great Podcast, entertaining as always.
One extra factor that may play into bringing a guy like Nichol back would be his injuried shoulder. He may be waiting upwards of 6 months before he can play contact hockey again, which might be too long to wait for him. There is a reason he had surgery right away after the season and that is because he needs all the time he can get this offseason to recover. Also, it will be interesting to see if Clowe has to have surgery on his shoulder as well. He had a beast of a year but if he is less than 100% then it would be harder to package him in a deal for a top 4 D-man (not that I want him to go anywhere – just think it adds more to him being an unmovable player).
Just a few extra thoughts…
WILD CARD BITCHES!
Shave it and you will score - Randy Hahn
by RMala on May 28, 2011 8:55 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Goligoski
I think he would have been instrumental for us if DW went ahead and traded Setoguchi for him.
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